Two main kinds of handling apparatuses are commonly known for filling and capping receptacles.
A first kind of handling apparatus comprises one single conveying carousel provided with a plurality of peripherally-arranged handling units for filling and capping respective receptacles. In particular, each handling unit comprises both filling means for filling the receptacles and capping means for capping the receptacles during rotation of the single conveying carousel.
This kind of handling apparatus has the advantage that the capping is performed immediately after the tilling without requiring any transfer of the receptacles and so avoiding possible losses of the product during the transfer itself. However, since each handling unit is equipped with both filling and capping means, the single conveying carousel has a quite complicated structure and a considerable size; in addition, this kind of handling apparatus entails complicated control means and high costs.
A second kind of handling apparatus comprises two distinct carousels for respectively filling the receptacles with a pourable product and for capping the filled receptacles.
In particular, the filling carousel is mounted to rotate around a first axis and is provided with a plurality of filling units peripherally arranged on the filling carousel itself and angularly spaced to each other around said first axis. Each filling unit is adapted to fill one respective receptacle during the rotation, of the filling carousel around the first axis.
The capping carousel is arranged spaced apart from the filling carousel and is mounted to rotate around a second axis parallel to the first axis. The capping carousel is provided with a plurality of capping units peripherally arranged on the capping carousel itself and angularly spaced to each other around the second axis. Each capping unit is configured to cap one respective filled receptacle during rotation of the capping unit.
This second kind of handling apparatus further comprises one or more transfer star wheels interposed between the filling carousel and the capping carousel and adapted to transfer the filled receptacles from one respective filling unit to one respective capping unit.
The continuous demand for increasing the output rate of the receptacle handling apparatuses poses issues on the transfer of the filled receptacles from one carousel to the next with possible losses of the product, especially at high speeds (more than 40000 bottles per hour).